Procter & Gamble

Continue reading Procter & Gamble earnings preview

Procter & Gamble earnings preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays believes Procter & Gamble's (NYSE: PG) portfolio mix provides better leverage to stabilizing macro trends. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Equal weight and raised its target to $60 from $56. Note the firm downgraded Colgate (NYSE: CL) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) to Buy from Hold as it finds the risk/reward on shares compelling at current levels and sees upcoming catalysts from McCafe and easing commodity pressures. The firm raised its target price to $65 from $60.
• FBR Capital upgraded Talbots (NYSE: TLB) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect an attractive risk/reward, reduced risk of a bankruptcy, and merchandise improvements. The firm raised its target price to $4 from $2.
• Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PG, MCD, TLB, CL, JTX, HD, IPCM, MYRG and NFLX

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: PG, MCD, TLB, CL, JTX, HD, IPCM, MYRG and NFLX originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 May 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Supervalu (NYSE: SVU), whose competitors include Kroger (NYSE: KR), Safeway (NYSE: SWY), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), reported results for its fiscal second quarter. Net sales unfortunately didn't budge much at all. They came in essentially flat at $10.2 billion. Earnings per share on an adjusted basis were $0.61. According to this article, the expectations were for $0.69 per share. So, as can be seen, Supervalu lost the analyst-expectations game by a wide margin. Last year's adjusted earnings were $0.64 per share. Not only are those numbers disappointing, but comps saw a decrease of over 1%. And the gross margin suffered as well.

So, we have an earnings miss, flat revenue growth, and a decline in the bottom line. What does all that add up to in terms of market reaction? The stock sees a bid. At the time I began writing this piece, it was up 2.5%. As I found with Kroger, the market may be looking at supermarket businesses as defensive plays. Of course, at the time I covered Kroger, that company's numbers were a lot better than Supervalu's.

However, last time I checked the stock before sending this piece in, it was becoming more volatile along with the market, moving from green to red in quick succession. Given the weak data, I can't say that I'd be considering Supervalu right now. It is true that people will continue to shop at supermarkets even during economic downturns, but I'd rather look at something the supermarket sells as opposed to the supermarket itself to get defensive. I'd rather align my portfolio with the stronger brand equity of perhaps a Kraft (NYSE: KFT) or a Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) than a Supervalu.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Supervalu disappoints Wall Street, is it still a buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Is the market getting you down? You want it to go up, right? Well, you better settle in and brace yourself for even harder times as an individual investor. That is, if some pundits are correct about the direction of share prices. According to this CNBC page, a Dow of 8,000 is now in play, and gold might be set to strap a rocket on its back and propel itself up to $1,500 per ounce over time. I'm not sure about the gold, but a Dow of 8,000 almost feels like a logical rest stop at this point (but that might be emotion talking). In the end, none of us can tell the future.

I can, however, share with you a wish. And it isn't just my wish. I'm sure there are others out there who have already said this. And, yes, this wish is coming from someone who owns The Walt Disney Corporation (NYSE: DIS), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), and General Electric (NYSE: GE). I own them for the long term (except for a separate trading position in GE which completely failed and may turn into another long-term asset), so maybe this wish isn't so mysterious. I want to go back to that "happy" time of October of '87. I want to see the Dow drop over 20% in one day. Preferably, I'd like to see it drop 25%, on Cloverfield-monster-sized volume. How many points would that be? As of this writing, it would be roughly 2,670 points.

What, am I insane? About as insane as the idiots who decided to become risk sponges, I suppose. In all seriousness, we need a crash. We need a reset, a reboot. We need a lot of panic on the street, and a spiking VIX ($VIX.X), to at least begin a bottom formation. If you think we're going to form a bottom without pain, you're wrong. And if you think, at this point, that we can form a bottom without a crash, well then, I won't say you're completely wrong on that count, but I will say that a crash would be better.

Continue reading I want a one-day stock market crash in October

I want a one-day stock market crash in October originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Fresh It Up (to remove odors) -- $5 for a 2.5-ounce bottle
• Get It Out (stain remover pen) -- $3 for a 0.4-ounce pen
• Smooth It Out (to remove wrinkles) -- $5 for 5 ounces
• Steam It Out (dryer cloth to remove wrinkles in 10 minutes) -- seven cloths for $5

Procter & Gamble announces new category of products: Swash for re-wear originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Any further market weakness creates creates another opportunity to acquire some outstanding stocks," suggests Kelley Wright, noted for his focus on blue chip, dividend-paying stocks.

In his Investment Quality Trends newsletter, he looks at the benefits of keeping a long-term focus, the value of dividend districutions to an investor's long-term returns, and his current "timely ten" picks for conservative investor.

"The cash dividend for the Dow is $322.40. One year ago the dividend was $284.06. Amidst all the turmoil in the markets and the economy something must be going right with the Dow 30 companies because the dividend is ever climbing.

"Dividends, as we all know, can only come from the reality of earnings; you can't pay what you don't have. The dividend yield on the Dow is currently 2.66%, which represents an 11% downside to a 3.0% yield and the historically repetitive area of Undervalue.

"Will the Average make it down to that level? No one knows but that isn't the point. At current levels the upside is FAR greater, particularly in many of the stocks in our Undervalued area.

Continue reading For blue chip buyers: 'This too shall pass'

For blue chip buyers: 'This too shall pass' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It wasn't a super quarter for Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB). The consumer-products company only met expectations set for it by Wall Street. But, sometimes, that's pretty good, given the conditions the business is working in. As a matter of fact, I see that Brent Archer penned a recent post discussing how inflation is hurting Kimberly-Clark (and just about every other entity, as well). At that time, the company projected a $900 million increase in terms of inflationary pressures, double management's previous estimate. So, looking through this current earnings release, I can't help but feel that things could have been worse.

For the second quarter, net sales rose 11% to $5 billion. Earnings on an adjusted basis dropped a penny compared to the year-ago period, coming in at $1.03 per share. Like I said, that matched expectations, according to Briefing.com. Guidance for the future also appears to be in-line. Kimberly-Clark seems, to me at least, to be holding its own during a difficult time. And here's a couple cash-flow data points that should appeal to many investors. Operating cash flow for the quarter was up 16% to $753 million. Prudent management of the company's working capital benefited this metric. And on a six-month basis, cash from operations also increased, albeit not by much. That sum rose a little under 2% to almost $1.2 billion. I like to see good cash-flow numbers like that, especially for dividend-paying concerns.

And speaking of dividends, Kimberly-Clark's stock is trading at a great yield, over 4%. Of course, that means that investors buying today will need a lot of patience. You'll be paid to wait, but if you're into fast capital-appreciation rates, you probably won't get it here, not in this trading environment. Inflation will continue to be a concern for it, as well as consumer-product colleagues such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and Energizer (NYSE: ENR).

(See more of today's earnings news here.)

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Kimberly-Clark meets Wall Street expectations, brings in the cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times reports that Citigroup (NYSE: C) plans to commit $400 million to its naming rights deal for the stadium of the New York Mets. I say stop this deal!

Why? There are so many examples of companies that got into trouble after they named stadiums after themselves. In Boston, the stadium where the New England Patriots play was named after Gillette -- but Gillette doesn't exist anymore -- Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) bought it in 2005. And we had the Fleet Center, where the Boston Celtics play -- but Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) bought Fleet in 2003. And we also had the Tweeter Center, a concert venue -- named after Tweeter Home Enterprises which filed for bankruptcy last June. Fortunately, Boston's other world championship team, the Red Sox, has the good sense to deny naming rights to any company for its Fenway Park.

Now for Citi. According to the Times, it made its 20-year deal for the Mets naming rights back in November 2006 under previous CEO, Chuck Prince, after netting $5.3 billion in 2006's third quarter. But in the past three quarters, it has lost $17 billion - including a $2.5 billion loss reported on Friday.

Continue reading Will Citi fall victim to the stadium-naming curse?

Will Citi fall victim to the stadium-naming curse? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 09:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) wants to calm the nerves of jittery Wall Street. According to this item, the Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) warning has spooked investors worried about inflation (I'm one of them). So, P&G wanted to let everyone know that things will be all right at the maker of Ivory soap and Pringles potato chips (or is that crisps?).

P&G is confident that it can deliver top-line growth of between 8% and 10% when it next reports. Also, management believes that earnings per share will still be somewhere between $0.76 and $0.78. You know it's a bad market when an announcement indicating that the status quo will merely be maintained as opposed to being exceeded is enough to keep a stock slightly in the green by a few pennies, as opposed to down nearly 5% (which is how the stocks of P&G and Kimberly-Clark are trading, respectively, as of this writing).

Of course, the fact that P&G came out and supported its guidance doesn't mean that inflation shouldn't be feared. We're still in bad shape in this regard, the bears haven't gone away, and I don't think either P&G or Kimberly-Clark are trading buys. I like both for the longer-term, and in terms of Kimberly-Clark, the yield is attractive. However, in terms of buy-and-hold-and-forget, you can't beat the safe reliability of P&G, whose product portfolio is one of the best out there in the consumer sector. I would imagine that P&G's brand equity is helping it navigate this vicious commodity storm, but don't think it can't weaken in coming quarters.

Disclosure: I don't own any stock mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Procter & Gamble tells investors not to worry - should they? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that is is not yet certain whether Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (NYSE: MER) will need to raise money. If it does, selling common stock could be expensive due to a 12-month protection the bank offered the investors that bought $12B in common and preferred shares earlier this year and selling assets like its interest in Bloomberg may present a different problem.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that investigators from the European Union are probing deeper into the pharmaceutical industry in an effort to determine whether drug companies have used unfair tactics to increase prices and block competition. Investigators have reportedly ask for views on direct-to-pharmacy distribution channels, which Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN) recently established in Britain.
• After Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) said it would reject InBev's $46B bid as "financially inadequate," InBev said it would launch a hostile bid. According to court documents, the Financial Times reported that InBev is preparing to launch a proxy battle seeking the removal of Anheuser's entire board.
• The Financial Times also reported that soaring energy prices are forcing U.S. consumer goods company The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) to rethink how it distributes products. The company may consider shifting manufacturing sites closer to consumers in order to lower its transport bill.

Newspaper wrap-up: InBev says its bid for Anheuser Busch will turn hostile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Best stocks to retire on from Fortune 40

Best stocks to retire on from Fortune 40 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In a move to help cut expenses and save on fuel prices, UAL Corporation (NASDAQ: UAUA), parent of United Airlines, will reduce its 460 airplane fleet by 70 jets. Not yet known is how may jobs will be affected, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• In an all stock deal, J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is expected to buy Folgers coffee from The Proctor & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) for an estimated $2B, according to the Wall Street Journal. Folgers, the best selling ground coffee in the U.S., has annual sales of about $1.6B.
• The Financial Times reported that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (NYSE: LEH) lost $500M-$700M on some of its hedging positions in Q2, which have contributed to a larger than expected loss that could result in the bank raising more capital by selling a stake to an outside investor. Lehman has begun negotiations with potential investors, including asset managers and Asian banks, sources said.

• According to sources, the Rocky Mountain News reported that troubled home builder Beazer Homes USA Inc (NYSE: BZH) is pulling out of Colorado. Beazer, which is being investigated for mortgage fraud by several government agencies, has built homes in the suburbs of Denver and in Colorado Springs.

Newspaper wrap-up: UAL Corp. to drop 70 more jets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I love coupons; who doesn't? They are, arguably, one of the most important marketing tools used by companies such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and General Mills (NYSE: GIS). I also love coupon distribution on the web, so I'm hoping a new technology reported on by BusinessWeek really takes off.

A company called Coupons, Inc. has developed a system dubbed Brandcaster. It essentially follows Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) model of monetization. Depending on where you are on the web and what you are looking at, the Brandcaster will determine if a coupon may be applicable to you. It will then try to get you to access the coupon and print it up. Web sites who use the application will be given a cut of revenues generated from successful coupon printings. So, speaking hypothetically, if I'm on a site that's dedicated to video games, maybe this Brandcaster thing will someday tell me that I can print up a coupon allowing me to get $5 off a new software title.

If this is promoted properly, and if the value to consumer companies can be adequately communicated, then I think Coupons, Inc. has a hit on its hands. Like I say, people love coupons, and I think they are more likely to act on printing out a coupon then they are to, say, buy a product immediately online through a banner ad. I see this kind of advertising as being more effective over the long-term than other kinds of ads.

Continue reading New "Brandcaster" technology to aid web distribution of coupons

New "Brandcaster" technology to aid web distribution of coupons originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is no longer relegated to a tiny corner of the investment landscape; indeed, according to the Social Investment Forum, SRI now accounts for $2.7 trillion, up more than 18% since 2005," says Chuck Carlson.

Here, the editor of The DRIP Investor offers five stock that both rank high for their social responsibility and also stand out based on more traditional earnings and valuation analysis.

"The Social Investment Forum estimates that more than one in every 10 dollars under professional management in the U.S. is involved in SRI investing. What is driving the growth in SRI?

"One factor is the increasing numbers of women and younger investors among the investor populace have fueled demand for SRI investments.

"In addition, we see an increased focus on environment, social, and corporate governance issues. Further, widely publicized stories concerning global warming as well as various corporate governance issues, have caused many investors to reconsider how they deploy their investment capital.

Continue reading Socially responsible favorites

Socially responsible favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 May 2008 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) reported Q1 results on Wednesday. By now, you know the drill when it comes to consumer-products companies -- weak-dollar-helped-and-commodity-costs-did-not-help. I gotta say, though, that Colgate-Palmolive showed that vigilance in terms of costs can have a positive impact, and that a business does not have to be defined by inflation.

Net sales exploded to the upside by more than 15% (again, currency effects). Net income likewise charged higher, rising 17% to 90 cents per share on an adjusted basis. I know -- superlatives such as "exploded" and "charged higher" might seem a bit hyper here, but it's always cool when a consumer-products company hits those double-digit increases. Colgate-Palmolive, like Clorox (NYSE: CLX) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), leverages its stable of brands to drive growth in cash flows (Procter & Gamble, by the way, also recently reported quarterly results). This worked like a charm, since cash flow from operations during the past three-month period increased 17%. Way to go, management. Margins, however, were pressured, as can be expected, and they will continue to be pressured in the near future.

The earnings release mentioned the flagship Colgate toothpaste product -- I am a user of the brand, and in fact, I bought a new variety earlier this week. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the supermarket is full of investing ideas, and Colgate-Palmolive is one of them. The company had a great quarter, it beat expectations according to Briefing.com -- albeit by the usual suspect, namely the "proverbial penny" -- and it seems solid enough. A potential core holding, Colgate-Palmolive should do well over the coming year. Yesterday's 6.7% drop in the price of the shares could have been seen as a buying opportunity for patient, long-term investors, but I'll concede that the stock could languish for a little while.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Colgate-Palmolive brushes up on double-digit growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 May 2008 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Avon (NYSE: AVP) delivered not a bag of cosmetics to Wall Street, but a batch of growing earnings. Total revenues for the first quarter were up beautifully, rising 14% to $2.5 billion. Earnings per diluted share likewise did the double-digit-increase dance, rocketing 26% to $0.43.

Now, I would have liked the report a lot more if the company had indicated in its cash flow statement that everything was positive -- unfortunately, that was not to be, as operational cash flow was, in fact, negative. Avon needed to use $41 million for its operating activities during the quarter. Well, one thing I can say is that it's a lot less than the cash needed to fund last year's operations -- Avon burned through over $160 million in the comparable period. A check of the latest 10K shows that, while operational cash flow has been decreasing over the last few years, it has remained positive, so since this is the first quarter of the new fiscal year, we can wait to see how cash flow shapes up as the quarters go by.

Avon competes with companies like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Revlon (NYSE: REV) and Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL). As I've stated in the past, Procter & Gamble is more my kind of consumer-products business, but I'll give Avon its due since it does have a good product portfolio backing its brand and a devoted base of users. The stock is not too far off from its 52-week high as of this writing, and so long as it can keep sales growing and fight inflationary pressures, it should be a decent long-term bet.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Avon's Q1 earnings were fetching (except for the cash flow) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) reported for the first quarter today. Net sales increased almost 10% to $4.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share increased 5% to $1.08. That's a rather small jump, granted, but you know something, it was enough to keep the stock in the green (at the time of this writing, at least) instead of in the red on a day when the major market averages -- and just about all of the stocks in my personal portfolios -- are bathing in the evil crimson color of doom. And according to Briefing.com, Kimberly-Clark played the beat-the-expectations game and won by the proverbial penny! Shareholders should be pleased.

A non-pleasing item to be found in the release centers on cash from operations -- it decreased by about $100 million to $426 million due to changes in working capital. That doesn't concern me so much right now, though, since Kimberly-Clark will probably do well over the coming years in terms of cash generation. The company, by the way, has been repurchasing stock, so management seems pleased with the shares as a potential investment idea.

Kimberly-Clark, which is a consumer-products business in the league of entities such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Energizer (NYSE: ENR), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and Unilever (NYSE: UL), could be a value right now based on its P/E ratio and dividend yield. Out of the stocks mentioned here, I like P&G the best, but I do respect Kimberly-Clark -- in fact, it was mentioned recently in an article by Steven Halpern that centered on an analyst's picks for quality and yield.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Kimberly-Clark's Q1 earnings: Perfect for defensive investing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to Hold from Buy on valuation and their expectation for slowing short-term industry growth, especially in beauty.
  
• Citigroup downgraded Human Genome (NASDAQ:HGSI) to Hold from Buy as they believe giving up Syncria's royalties removes an important value driver for the stock.
  
• HSBC downgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE:MT) to Neutral from Overweight on valuation and believes the company needs to raise prices more than costs have risen for iron ore, coking coal and steel scrap.

• BAE Systems (NASDAQ:BAESY) was cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• Merrill downgraded Zoltek (NASDAQ:ZOLT) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Credit Suisse downgraded Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) and International Paper (NYSE:IP) to Neutral from Outperform.

Analyst downgrades: PG, HGSI and MT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

WD-40 (NASDAQ: WDFC) issued its Q2 earnings report yesterday after the close of the market trading session -- and it wasn't full of great news. The top line was essentially flat as net sales dipped 0.5% to almost $79 million. Earnings came in at $0.51 per diluted share versus $0.52 per diluted share in the year-ago time frame.

Another negative aspect to the report was the statement of cash flows. WD-40 took in a lot less in terms of net cash from operations this time around, as changes in working capital and other items affected the flow. There's also a lot less cash on the balance sheet. And, sorry to say shareholders, but WD-40 missed analyst expectations by the proverbial penny. Investors shouldn't always be concerned with Wall Street expectations, but here's something that shareholders will be concerned with: the company lowered its earnings outlook. Management says that revenue growth will probably be somewhere between 4% and 8% as opposed to the originally expected range of between 7% and 10% -- any hopes for double-digit appreciation are now history. Net income per share is now expected to fall in a range between $1.80 and $1.90 versus a previous range of $1.83 and $1.93.

Well, now, what do we make of all this? It was a disappointing report, no question. But WD-40 has some decent brands in its portfolio, including the flagship lubricant, although its brand collection isn't necessarily on par with others, such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), and Clorox (NYSE: CLX). WD-40 isn't the current best play in the consumer-goods department at the moment, in my humble opinion. Some will point out that the stock's yield is attractive right now at 3%, but its dividend history isn't as good as others in terms of quarterly hikes. I'm not very bullish on WD-40; maybe I will be at a later date.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

WD-40's Q2 results didn't impress me originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is one of my favorite companies. No, I don't own it; I should, I know, but I can't own everything. Nevertheless, I love P&G for its great collection of brands that dominate supermarket shelves. And, I also love that blue-chip dividend it pays out.

Well, the company announced that shareholders are going to get a raise. The quarterly payout increased 14% to $0.40 per share. Can P&G afford to do this? How does one check? Well, you'll want to look at a company's cash flow. P&G's latest 10Q shows that, for the latest six-month period, the Dow component generated $7.4 billion in operational cash. P&G spent about $1.2 billion for capital expenditures. Dividend obligations were $2.3 billion. Adding up the dividend payments and the cap-ex requirements shows that $7.4 billion amply took care of both financial activities. Yeah, I'd say that P&G can afford the nice double-digit increase.

Here's another nifty thing. Since the new annual payment is $1.60 per share, investors can buy P&G shares all the way up to a share price of $80 and still get a 2% yield. Yeah, that might not sound like much, but an excellent, dependable, low-risk blue-chip equity with a yield 2% or higher isn't something to dismiss. So, like PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), and Clorox (NYSE: CLX), Procter & Gamble is a safe consumer-goods stock that should be looked to as a potential core holding. This latest dividend increase offers further evidence of such thinking.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Procter & Gamble proves yet again that dividends rule originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.